The Cresta, La Jolla, Calif.

Custom Home / Over 3,000 Square Feet / Award

Taking advantage of San Diego’s temperate climate, Jonathan Segal, FAIA, focused the design of this 5,300-square-foot house around the notion of an outdoor room. Situated at the top of a meandering entry sequence, the open-air lounge space is shielded from public view by double-height concrete panels on one side, and the bulk of the house on the other, while still receiving ample California sunshine through a void cut into the overhanging roof structure. Formed entirely from cast-in-place concrete, punctuated by floor-to-ceiling glass panels (many of which are operable, to allow fresh air indoors), the structure has two stories that are above grade, topped by a deck and a solar array that provides nearly all of the home’s power. A third finished below-grade floor offers guest and recreation spaces, and an L-shaped pool wraps the house on two sides. “It’s just stellar,” juror Gregory Hoss said. “I really like the relationship between the glass and the concrete,” agreed Cary Bernstein. “It is really well done.”

Click here to see all of the winners of the 2014 Residential Architect Design Awards.